Related

Holder Liverpool and Chelsea shared the spoils in a goalless
Champions League encounter on Wednesday night, billed as a grudge
tie after the Merseysiders's controversial semi-final win last
season.

Liverpool, confident in Europe though struggling at home,
hustled the Londoners as much as any team has this season as the
two teams remained joint top of Group G with four points from two
matches.

For Chelsea, rampant in the Premier League and 14 points ahead
of Liverpool, it was the first game of the season it had not won
and they were often on the back foot.

The English rivals put on a better spectacle than in last
season's semi-final, where a single disputed goal at a roaring
Anfield settled the tie.

For Jose Mourinho, who like Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez has
won the UEFA Cup and Champions League in successive seasons, that
defeat marred an otherwise successful first season in England,
though he stopped short of talking of revenge.

Liverpool's indefatigable captain Steven Gerrard, who scored
seven times in Champions League qualifying, took a chance from 25
metres but the shot sailed over the bar in the 17th minute.

The home crowd claimed a penalty when Sami Hyypia tumbled under
a Didier Drogba tackle but Italian referee Massimo de Santis was
unmoved by the baying Kop supporters.

The fans returned to taunting the small Chelsea contingent at
the other end with chants of "Where were you in Istanbul?",
recalling a memorable night in May when Liverpool came from 3-0
down to beat AC Milan in the final.

Chelsea's best chance came in the 33rd minute when Lampard
threaded ball to Arjen Robben who turned two defenders and forced
Reina to tip the ball over for a corner.

At the other end lofty Peter Crouch, more than two metres tall
and dangerous in the air, was a constant thorn in the side of
Portuguese defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira.

He did not manage a shot on target, however, against a Chelsea
defence that has conceded only one goal in nine games this
season.

Liverpool, true to its European form, came out guns blazing in
the second period and Chelsea was largely pinned in their own
half.

The home side had two credible penalty appeals turned down. In
the 52nd minute Ferreira appeared to pull at Luis Garcia with the
Spaniard through on goal, Petr Cech saving at his feet.

Three minutes later the players and the Kop rose in unison
claiming handball against William Gallas. De Santis was not
convinced.

In the 74th minute Liverpool almost conceded against the run of
play when a Hyypia back header missed Reina and the goalkeeper had
to dive to flick it out of the path of the advancing Duff.

Alonso, Gerrard and Djibril Cisse all had chances from distance
and Chelsea kept the champion at bay, though at a heavy cost in
yellow cards for captain John Terry, Claude Makelele, Lampard and
Robben.